Canister filter specialsThis guide I hope will be helpful to those looking for a low maintenance filter for their aquarium.Aquarium canister filters ie. penn plax cascade, Jebo cs4, fluval filters, eheims, filstar filters , and the new commidity axis 750 are all such filters. First you want to look for a filter that has multiple filtration chambers which all of the above do. This way you can have prefilter pads. carbon and bio media.(make sure you pack them right) Then check the flow rate of the filters. Compare to your aquarium size. You need a flow rate of minimum three times the gallons of your aquarium to work well. As an example if you have a 30 gallon aquarium then flow rate should be over 90gh. A reputable dealer will tell you what flow rate the filters are. The faster the better. Then check your pocket book and see what you can spend. The Jebo and lifetech canisters are the most economical but make sure you buy from and experienced dealer, who can get you parts. Most filtration media is universal and can be put in all the models. If you are looking for longer lasting filters look towards the penn plax cascade, the fluval models or filstar, they are higher priced but are more durable.Also check and make sure the seller includes filtration media with the unit, as some aquarium canister filters you have to buy the media seperate. For the advanced aquariust the Eheim models are higher priced but the highest quality.Also to make them lower maintenance I recommend buying an internal prefilter unit to pull debri and fish waste out of the water so you can clean it more often and clean the canister filters every few months. Canisters are made to be hidden behind the aquarium but are messy to clean and sometimes if you mess with them too much you will have to replace parts.

Magnum canister filter are great units but do to the lack of multiple filtration chambers have to be clean quite often, The hot magnum 250 is the best for clearing up an aquarium after clean as it comes with a micron cartridge which pulls very small particles out of the water. Just make sure you clean it after it slows down.

The new Jebo canister are great economical canister filters , they include the Odyssea Cs4 , the Lifetech 828 and 838, and the new Newport B28. They come complete with multistage baskets and all filter media and are the best buy for the money, The filter media alone would cost over 40.00 dollars at a pet store.They are made with better plastic now than they were and can run months at a time with out cleaning, Check my other guides for info on these units for fresh and saltwater use.